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Letter To Jonathan On Why The Leadership Of ICPC And Other Anti-Corruption Agencies Matter -ZCCC

February 17, 2011

Our attention have been drawn to a publication in the Leadership Newspaper of 1 December, 2010 to the effect that President Jonathan Goodluck has nominated Hon. Justice Pius Aderemi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the next Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Our attention have been drawn to a publication in the Leadership Newspaper of 1 December, 2010 to the effect that President Jonathan Goodluck has nominated Hon. Justice Pius Aderemi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the next Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

The Zero Corruption Coalition and indeed the entire Nigerian public are amazed that the President will take this decision in the light of several complaints against the previous leadership of ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies, particularly with regards to the ineffectiveness of these Commissions, particularly, under the previous leadership of retired Justices of the Supreme Court and Police Officers.

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While we hold our Justices in high esteem, we wish to reiterate that the fight against corruption is not for retired judicial officers or any retired officer, and certainly not for those without the passion and understanding of the complexity of the governance issues in Nigeria which has been bedeviled by endemic corruption since Nigeria became independence.

We believe that the appointment of the leadership of anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria should be driven by a desire to effect fundamental and radical change in Nigeria and not by parochial and self-serving interests.  In fact, the appointment of the ICPC Chairman gives this administration and the incumbent President who is seeking re-election an opportunity to rise to the occasion and to truly express in practical terms his avowed commitment to fighting corruption and institutionalizing governance in Nigeria.  This is the time to show Nigerians that he will stand by his statements during his recent declaration.

This government cannot afford to continue to waste tax payer’s money by allowing institutions that do not serve the interests of Nigeria people to continue to exist. If the government does not have interest in fighting corruption by appointing young, radical, intelligent, credible and honest officials into the top positions of these institutions, the best and honorable thing to do is to shut them down and to stop singing rhetoric on good governance.

Qualification:
We wish to draw the attention of the President to the provisions of the ICPC Act, 2000 under Section 3 (4) which states and we quote:
 

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“The Chairman shall be a person who has held or is qualified to hold office as a judge of a superior court of record in Nigeria”

The interpretation section of the Act further elaborates on the definition of “a Judge of a Superior Court of Record” to mean a Judge holding Office as defined by Section 6 (5) of the Constitution.

Section 6 (5) of the Constitution is very explicit and does not require further interpretation. It states and we quote “This section relates to;

(a)    Supreme Court;

(b) Court of Appeal;

(c) Federal High Court;

(d) The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(e) The State High Courts;

(f) The Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja;

(g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State (h) Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja;
 

(i) Customary Court of Appeal of a State;

(j) Such other courts as may be authorized by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and

(k)) Such other courts as maybe authorized by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which the House of Assembly may make laws.

We make bold to say that this law does not restrict the Chairperson of ICPC to Justices of the Supreme Court nor to Judges.

The emphasis of the Section is “on those who have held or qualified to hold office as a judge of a superior court in Nigeria. If we stretch the interpretation of this section further, it means that any person called to the Nigerian Bar who is distinctly recognized to posses the quality to be an honest and a person of high integrity can occupy the position of the chairperson of ICPC”

Age Limit:
If we take for granted that the position must be occupied by a Judge, then the President owes a duty to this country to appoint a young and dynamic judicial officer with proven integrity.

Taking a cursory review of anti-corruption agencies around the world, none of the heads of these agencies are above 50 years. Good examples are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Kenya. In the case of Sierra Leone, the anti-corruption commission which has undertaken more work in three years of its establishment compared with the Nigerian ICPC which was established ten years ago is led by an experienced lawyer of less than 47 years.
If we go by the Nigerian Public Service Rules, officers are required to retire at the age of sixty years, we therefore consider it an anomaly that the President is appointing a retired judge of more than seventy years to be the head of a Public Institution in Nigeria. This is not just an ordinary public office but one that is saddled with more responsibilities given the burden of fighting corruption in Nigeria.

It is the humble submission of ZCC that the appointment of a Chairperson of ICPC and all the other anti-corruption agencies as well as the board members should be subjected to the public scrutiny through advertisement in the public dailies and the screening by a committee made by up of the National Assembly, the Executive and the Civil Society. Gone is the time when anti-corruption agenda of Nigeria is set only by the government. The civil society and the public are at the receiving end of failed government, accordingly, we are demanding that we should be invited to make our contribution on how these agencies are established, sustained, funded and managed.


We look forward to engaging the government further on these issues.
Juliet Ume-Ezeoke
Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCCC)

To: THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Cc: Chair, Committee on Anti-corruption of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
 

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